•       Blood checks

•       Breast cancer Screening

•       Skin cancer Screening

•       Diabetes Screening

•       Cholesterol Screening

•       Eye exams

•       Body-fat Screening

•       Flu shots

•       Posture screening, spinal analysis

•       On-site child immunizations

•       Prostate cancer screenings

•       Fitness Screening

•       Depression Screening

Fitness Activities:

•       On-site fitness center or exercise room

•       Walking and/or running club (during lunch hour or breaks)

•       Bike rack on premises (so employees can ride to work or during lunch)

•       Mind/body classes (yoga, tai chi) initiatives

•       Team sports (volleyball, basketball, softball)

•       Host an exercise equipment swap

Lifestyle Change or Behavior Change Initiatives:

•       Tobacco cessation

•       Weight management initiatives

•       Substance abuse initiatives

•       Fitness activity

•       Stress management initiatives

Safety and Prevention Initiatives:

•       Back-injury prevention and training

•       Ergonomic education

•       Hand-tool safety initiatives

•       Fire safety initiatives

Awareness, Health Education, and Support Initiatives:

•       Lunch-and-learn or brown-bag wellness seminars (see your EAP for a list)

•       Nutrition and diet information, plus provide healthy food alternatives in your vending machines and cafeteria, and provide food storage and preparation facilities to encourage healthier eating

•       Prenatal care initiatives

•       Work / Life Balance initiatives

•       Elder care initiatives

•       Cancer survivor support groups

•       Financial education

Stress-Reliever Initiatives:

•       Laughter bulletin board where employees can post jokes and cartoons (in good taste)

•       Visiting massage therapist

•       Stretch breaks

•       Group lunches or celebrations

Disease Management Initiatives:

•       Back pain

•       Asthma

•       Diabetes

•       Depression

•       Cancer

•       Obesity

•       Hypertension

•       access to an EAP

•       on-site medical services

•       workplace medical examinations

•       health risk screening and counselling:

§  blood pressure,

§  blood cholesterol ,

§  blood glucose clinics,

§  thyroid.

§  bone density screening,

§  prostrate

•       promote self-exams – breasts, testicles

•       medical surveillance Initiatives

•       immunizations and flu vaccinations

•       disability case management

•       active rehabilitation

•       return to work Initiatives

•       self-care education (see health living Initiatives)

•       disease management information and presentations:

§  diabetes,

§  stomach disorder,

§  arthritis,

§  asthma,

§  allergy,

§  pain control,

§  foot and back care Initiatives,

§  chronic fatigue,

§  migraines

•       health on-line with continuous learning/reminders/tips

•       daily/weekly/monthly email tips or news bulletins

•       excercise appraisals

•       safety and health fairs

•       hand-washing tips and reminders

•       visiting your doctor guide – tips to efficiency

•       links and information on help lines

Healthy Work Environment Initiatives: Management Training

• scheduling
• incentive and recognition Initiatives
• workload impact
• communication and feedback skills
• conflict management skills and support skills
• priority setting
• all of which are apart of the four employment relationship factors (trust, commitment, influence, and communication – from Canadian Policy Research Network)

Healthy Work Environment Initiatives: Remuneration and Benefits

• massage – try an on-site massage therapist or seated massage breaks
• orthotics
• orthodontics
• fitness subsidies
• education subsidies
• cessation and weight control partial reimbursement incentives
• safety shoe reimbursement
• out-of-country coverage
• vision care
• alternative therapy coverage

Healthy Work Environment Initiatives: Building Support

• fitness breaks and stretches
• team challenges
• corporate sport teams such as soccer, volleyball, and hockey
• use staff members who are in-house experts e.g., gardening, yoga, construction
• celebrate birthdays, anniversaries – other significant dates and achievements
• 5 minute catch-up at beginning of work week
• pot lucks and food for meetings
• green room for time outs and regrouping self
• encouraging face to face communications
• learn names

**The creation of health or harm within an corporation depends on how work is managed. Workplace Culture Strategies must address high demand/low control, high effort/low reward, fairness, purpose and trust.

•       family planning information

•       parenting classes

•       elder care Initiatives and information

•       retirement planning

•       personal responsibility leave

•       alternative work arrangements such as telecommuting, job sharing

•       work-family-life transition support

•       anger management and family violence

•       family counselling initiatives

•       budgeting and financial counselling

•       understanding credit reports

•       money safety tips – ATMS, credit cards

•       advertising and promotion of community support groups

•       cafeteria take-out program

•       tax preparation initiatives

•       will, power of attorney, and estate experts

•       vacation planning and safe travel

•       interpersonal relationship speakers

•       motivational speakers

•       bereavement information

•       shift work and lifestyle Initiatives

•       limit overtime

•       balance on-line suggestions such as SC Johnson

•       family days – bike rodeos, BBQ, picnics

•       swimming pool safety

•       charity information – United Way, MADD

•       other information sessions on: 

•       chemical free lawn and garden care,

•       menopause,

•       infertility,

•       lice prevention,

•       poisoning,

•       fire safety initiatives

•       seat belts and booster seats,

•       playground safety,

•       internet safety,

•       home safety and energy efficiency

•       equity in the workplace initiatives

•       harassment policy and training

•       literacy/numeracy Initiatives

•       professional development and skill enhancing training

•       air quality and sick building testing

•       smoke-free workplace

•       fire safety initiatives

•       hazard control and WHIMS Training

•       injury prevention, CPR/First Aid, emergency response Initiatives

•       improved signage

•       installing guard rails

•       work station design, ergonomic and repetitive strain reduction training

•       stretching initiatives

•       safety and health written and implemented policies

•       Safety Audits

•       access to bike racks, showers and change areas

•       make stairs attractive and post signs to promote their use

•       proper lighting

•       monitoring noise levels

•       shift work strategies related to lighting, noise, air, breaks etc.

The purpose of completing the assessment is to identify your worksite’s strengths and areas in need of improvement. The assessment will lead your workgroup to recommend actions for changes to make the worksite more supportive of healthy behaviors (i.e. healthy food choices in vending machines, policies to enforce no tobacco use on worksite grounds or encouraging walking during break times). You may find some of the actions for supporting healthy behaviors are easy to do and others may not be feasible or efficient in your worksite.  The assessment results can also be used as a baseline measure for evaluation.  The initial assessment can later be compared with a follow-up assessment several months later to note progress.

Who should do the Corporate Wellness Program Environment Assessment?

Identify a workgroup (at least 4-5 employees) who will be responsible for completing the assessment.  This may be a subset of your wellness workgroup.  Forming a diverse group from all areas and levels of your corporation is important for meaningful assessment and successful planning and implementation. Suggested members include: human resources, staff members from various departments, administrators, supervisors, worker or wellness staff.

When should the Corporate Wellness Program Environment Assessment be Done?

Use the assessment as a starting point for your wellness initiative. Once you have completed the assessment, determine which areas the workgroup will focus on (i.e. healthy eating, physical activity, general health, etc.). Create a time for the workgroup to meet and monitor the progress. Also determine a schedule for annual assessments, so that the assessment can serve as a tool for continuous improvement and accountability over time.

Part 1 – Wellness Assessment Checklist

Complete a Worksite Wellness Assessment Checklist to determine what wellness components you currently have at your worksite.   This can be done with the full workgroup or you may want a few key personnel (such as the Human Resources lead, Wellness Coordinator or Workgroup Coordinator) to do a preliminary scan based on information they gather and then let the full workgroup react to their findings. Ask your broker for a sample wellness assessment checklist or create your own.

Completion of the checklist provides a reference point of the wellness functions that are currently in place or in process and it provides an overview of some of the items that should be considered for a comprehensive Corporate Wellness Program.

Checklist Components:

Categories.  There are six major categories (General, Physical Activity, Nutrition, Health Screening, Tobacco Use and Emergency Response Plan).  Each category has several questions that address what you currently have in place at your worksite.

Current Status.  Initially, list whether you have the component (Yes), are in the process of instituting the component or you are planning for the component (In Process) or don’t have the component at all (No).  At the end of each category, sub-total the number in each column and then total all of the categories at the end of the checklist to get an overview of where your worksite Corporate Wellness Program currently rates. You should also use this baseline measure as a benchmark for later evaluation.  By evaluating where your worksite is on each wellness component, you will be able to get a general idea of your status across each category and all 57 items.

Potential Priorities.  After you have completed the assessment and the employee interest survey, you can use the potential priority column to indicate what components you might want to focus on that are either currently in process or don’t exist.  This can serve as a first screening of possible areas to focus on as you develop your action plan.

Part 2: worker Input

Why would we want to do an employee survey?

You should conduct an employee survey to get a better understanding of your target audience (your corporation’s staff members) and get an initial idea of their current health habits and interest areas.  The survey can be tailored to your worksite and can be done in paper form or through the use of survey instruments on the internet or that can be purchased.   You can create your own employee survey or ask your broker for a Workplace Wellness Needs and Interest Survey. 

As was the case with the worksite environmental assessment, the employee survey results can also be used as a baseline measure for later evaluation.  The initial survey results can later be compared with a follow-up survey several months later to note progress.

You should also consider engaging staff members in focus groups or informal interviews to gather information on their wants and needs.  This can be done either before or after the survey, or if you don’t have the resources to survey staff members, you could use this method to gather information in place of the survey. 

Whatever method you use to gather information, make it as easy as possible for staff members to complete and submit the information so you get a high return rate.  Consider offering an incentive or prize for employees who complete the survey.

Key Factors in Corporate Wellness Program

In today’s society there are many primary factors that influence people’s health behaviors.  Consider the following list in maintaining participation in your program:

1. TIME.  Employees are busy, so the more you can work activity and healthy eating into their existing schedules, the better your chances for success.  Example: A walk during lunch doesn’t take away from existing time, it just uses it differently.  Also look at the time of the day and length of any activity you might be promoting, since both time components may be factors.
2. ACCESS.   How accessible is your Corporate Wellness Program.  Is it onsite or at a nearby site?  Do you offer access at breaks or outside of normal work hours?
3. KNOWLEDGE.  Employees need to know “Why” they are taking part in (the benefits) and also will need information about the “How to” in areas that are not commonly known. 
4. COST.  Make certain that you can provide no cost or reduced cost Corporate Wellness Programs will help participation rates.  Coupled with incentives for participation, rates of participation will likely increase dramatically. 
5. INCENTIVES.  Some employees need incentives to get started in a Corporate Wellness Program.  A full list of Corporate Wellness Program incentive options can be on the website.

Key Time Periods in Corporate Wellness Program

Good habits are often difficult to develop.  There tends to be some critical times when employees drop out or fall off of a physical activity or diet program.   The first key time zone seems to be around 6 weeks.   If employees can start and stay consistent with a program through the first 6 weeks, they have made a fairly serious commitment to incorporate the habits into their lifestyle.  The second key time is at about 6 months.  Those who made it past 6 weeks may get bored and/or distracted from their program after several months.  If employees can get past 6 months and sustain behavior through a full set of weather seasons, they have a very good chance of making the changes permanent. 

Consider these time periods and think about how you can “boost” your staff members to get them past these critical time markers.  Promoting individual or group “challenges”, using incentives, or increased publicity/marketing are a few of the things you can do to help get your staff members through these key time periods

Goal Setting for Corporate Wellness Program

Setting goals has been shown to lead to better participation and more employees making a strong commitment.  Whether it be a team goal of walking the equivalent of once around your state or an individual goal of so many miles or minutes of activity, the fact that there is something concrete to shoot for increases the likelihood employees will stick with the program.

Buddy Systems or Team Goals for Corporate Wellness Program

The social aspects of improving one’s health cannot be underestimated.  Many studies point to tight social groups being the backbone for a successful campaign because each individual has a commitment to something bigger than themselves and besides, it’s just more fun for most employees. Build your program around some type of teams or partners and see what happens.

Team “Campaigns” for Corporate Wellness Program

Some employees like competition and others don’t.  Nevertheless, a worksite wide campaign has the advantage of keeping the message more visible and alive.  Encourage campaign participation, but make it voluntary so that those who prefer that type of motivation can join while others can take part in their own way and at their own pace.  If the idea of a campaign seems like too much work, consider tapping into existing campaigns where someone else provides resources for you. 

Incentives for Corporate Wellness Program

Incentives are often helpful in maintaining or raising interest.  Significant incentives such as cash or medical insurance rebates have proven to be very strong motivators for worker participation.  However, even smaller incentives can be beneficial.  Listed below are some sample incentives:

•       Achievement awards. Verbal praise and a pat on the back are motivational to some, but a token of recognition of achievement may offer more. A colorful certificate to congratulate an worker for achieving a health-related goal is one example.

•       Public recognition.  Announced recognition at campaign mid-point or wrap-up festivities.

•       Food.  Include some healthy foods to kick-off, revitalize or wrap up a wellness campaign.

•       Entertainment.  Events serve a purpose in jump-starting, reenergizing or wrapping up a campaign.  Having entertainment of any kind can boost morale.

•       Merchandise.  There is a long list of merchandise incentives, including sports equipment and small gift certificates to use at local merchants. 

•       Monetary rewards.  Nothing says incentive better than cash.  Worksites that have used cash or rebates as an incentive have shown much higher participation rates.

•       Time off.  Maybe the next best incentive to cash, or for some employees even better.  This type of incentive makes good business sense if the number of absences drops significantly and attendance is used as one of the criteria.

1. Improved Morale – When the organizational culture begins to change as a result of your health promotion efforts, you and your staff members may actually start to see and feel a new level of energy within the corporation.  Ultimately, one of the most ambitious goals of any comprehensive health promotion program is to attempt to influence the attitudes and actions of the organization’s most valuable resource — its staff members. 
2. Reduced Turnover – As we all know, worker replacement costs can be quite high for any kind of corporation.  The effort and expense associated with running employment ads, reading applications, checking references, interviewing qualified candidates, hiring and training a new worker can be a serious burden on any corporation.  In light of the challenges that high worker turnover pose, many organizations are looking to health promotion programs as an additional perk that can help to prevent staff members from jumping ship.
3. Increased Recruitment Potential – In the midst of a very tight labor market, organizations are forced to pull out the stops in order to recruit new talent.  In some instances, health promotion can prove to be a very valuable tool in sealing the deal. 
5. Reduced Absenteeism – When an worker misses work in a corporation setting, the entire organization is forced to absorb his/her responsibilities.  Even in the event of the occasional absence caused by things like colds and the flu, work can back-up and tensions can build.  Even worse is a long-term absence caused by a major health event that requires hospitalization and/or rehabilitation.  By preventing certain types of illness caused by poor lifestyle habits, health promotion programs can play an important role in decreasing rates of absence. 
6. Health Care Cost Containment – Most organizations don’t start a health promotion program with cost containment in mind.  However, cost containment for certain health problems should be considered a viable goal by many organizations. 
7. Improved worker Health Status – One of the greatest advantages of a well-designed health promotion initiative is the promise of improved health.  There is a growing body of evidence that suggests well-designed health promotion initiatives can successfully impact such behaviors as tobacco use, high-risk alcohol use, and more.

The Corporate Wellness Program management world is evolving rapidly. Each month, there are new research findings that support the premise that Corporate Wellness Programs and disease management have a long-term impact on medical costs. Many large organizations that started Corporate Wellness Programs three to five years ago are showing savings in health, disability, and workers compensation costs. Small to mid-size organizations are watching all this and wondering where to start with wellness.

Getting upper management support and budget approval is one of the challenges at the beginning of a Corporate Wellness Program. This is the case because Corporate Wellness Programs can be expensive, averaging $150-300 per worker per year in large organizations. Most of the savings are not realized for a number of years. This long-term investing is hard for organizations on the move.

The key to success for Corporate Wellness Programs is to take a strategic approach. Here are ten steps to consider when starting a Corporate Wellness Program.

1. Begin with upper management. Without upper management support, a health promotion strategy can fall flat. Begin with the health of your executive team and discover your wellness champions at the top of the corporation.
2. Analyze the problem. Look at your medical claims and analyze the trends. Which conditions are driving your medical, disability, and workers’ compensation claims and which are modifiable? What’s worked and what hasn’t thus far? What is the long-term impact of doing nothing?
3. Hold an initial wellness meeting. Invite your primary stakeholders both inside and outside the corporation. Ask your broker to facilitate the meeting and invite primary health vendors including health, disability, Employee Assistance Program (EAP), fitness, and occupational nursing. Review claims and utilization information and identify primary areas of concern. Look at current offerings and see how they can be tailored to the needs of the population.
4. Consider both healthy and unhealthy staff members. Since 85 percent of claims are usually attributed to 15 percent of claimants, it is essential to reach those with the most costly conditions while also reaching employees who are at risk for developing preventable diseases in the future. Voluntary Corporate Wellness Programs such as lunch and learns wellness seminars miss many of the employees who need them most. Consider initiatives that are population-wide or target intact workgroups. Wellness incentives help but do not motivate everyone.
5. Establish short-term goals for the Corporate Wellness Programs. Establish some realistic short-term goals based on your primary areas of concern. Are there any plan design changes that could have an immediate impact on spending? Are there some programmatic actions that could have immediate results?
6. Determine what staff members are thinking. Hold some focus groups to determine where employees are with wellness. What’s working? What isn’t? How much interest do employees have in the Corporate Wellness Programs? What obstacles and barriers are staff members experiencing when they try to change behavior?
7. Ensure that you have a high-impact Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Your first wellness dollars should go into upgrading your Employee Assistance Program (EAP). A highly utilized Employee Assistance Program (EAP) can provide a foundation for all of your future wellness activities. A good Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is a trusted link to the hearts and minds of staff members. At no additional cost, the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) can provide needed follow-up coaching and personal attention for staff members who are working on modifiable health behaviors or involved in disease management initiatives. Nutritionists, fitness, pregnancy, and stress management specialists are all part of a high-value Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
8. Establish three to five year goals for medical savings and measure them. Get help from your broker and insurance carrier help you on long-term goals for your health, disability, and workers compensation plans. Create program metrics that will help you to measure return on investment (ROI). Go beyond participation rates, completion rates and program satisfaction. Measure changes in readiness, changes in behavior, and changes in risk factors. Create rigorous methods to measure medical savings over the long term.
9. Establish goals for organizational health. Consider the more intangible benefits of a wellness initiative and quantify them whenever possible. Include worker turnover rates, cost of new hires, worker morale, benefit satisfaction information, and employer of choice issues in setting goals. Create ways to measure success in these areas.
10. Add specifics to your short and long-term plan. Include a Corporate Wellness Program strategy, a communication strategy, and a Corporate Wellness Program incentive strategy that will fit with your corporate culture. Focus on integration of related components along a health continuum with communications that are focused, simple, and human. Create a budget that includes primary components such as consumer education, health promotion, health risk assessments, and regular biometric screens.